Climate Risks and Preparedness

The science is clear: addressing climate change must include strategies that both reduce heat-trapping pollution and increase resilience against current and ongoing climate impacts. Extreme weather and other climate impacts are already affecting communities, wildlife, and businesses across the planet. Understanding these effects and investing in climate preparedness are critical to ensuring our economies, public health, and natural resources remain resilient in a warming world. Investing in climate-smart strategies today will stimulate economic growth and save billions of dollars in future climate impact costs, making it economically and ecologically wise public policy.

International Fund for Animal Welfare's new Climate Change and Animals series of teaching resources explore the impacts of climate change on animals and people. These resources are appropriate for middle and early secondary school students and are aligned with various National Science Standards Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change. Audubon’s findings classify 314 species—nearly half of all North American birds—as severely threatened by global warming. The interactive maps show how each of these at-risk birds’ potential ranges could expand, contract, or shift in both summer and winter as our climate changes.

The Urban Water Footprint analyzes the state of water sources in over 2000 watersheds and 530 cities worldwide to provide science-based recommendations for natural solutions that can be integrated alongside traditional infrastructure to improve water quality. City and utility leaders who embrace both natural and engineered water infrastructure will not only meet future water demand, they will reshape our planet's landscape for the better.

In 2014, the Center for Climate Change Communication partnered with the Climate Communication Consortium of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on a mail survey of adult Marylanders on public health, energy and the environment. The survey resulted in three reports: "Public Perceptions of Climate Change," "Public Beliefs, Behaviors & Preferences about Energy," and "Adapting to Climate Change & Sea Level Rise."

The report analyzes a series of studies showing how taking action now can protect our communities and save money, highlighting how healthy natural systems such as dunes, oyster reefs, barrier islands and wetlands can reduce flood risk more effectively in many cases than erecting levees and seawalls. The report identifies seven areas of federal and state law that could use improvement.

The policy briefing document states that the Administration strongly opposes H.R. 2, which purports to promote and increase the Nation’s energy security, but which would undermine energy security and endanger human health and the environment. H.R. 2 would hinder current policies that support safe and responsible energy production, and it would also facilitate natural gas pipeline production projects and could potentially hinder the EPA in completing its obligations.

Limited availability of freshwater could become a stumbling block for rapid development of shale resources through hydraulic fracturing. Using information from the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, WRI provides the first global and country-specific resource to help stakeholders evaluate freshwater availability across shale plays worldwide.

The report identifies more than 30 federal programs, initiatives and laws that can be used to prepare for extreme events such as storms, floods and heat waves as well as rising seas. The report recommends that the government funds local actions to prepare for climate change, new investments account for climate change, climate change be incorporated into floodplain maps, and more funding should go into restoring coastal wetlands and floodplains.

This report details how climate change is impacting the outdoors through changing weather and precipitation patterns and how these effect plants, animals, and insect species. For example, the changing climate may create better conditions for pest species such as ticks, mosquitoes, and poison ivy. The report also offers priority actions in order to combat climate change.

EESI compiled over a dozen summaries of documents published by national and international governmental organizations that support the existence, causes, and need for action concerning climate change The following organizations' publications are summarized: the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CNA Corporation's Military Advisory Board, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Global Change Research Program, U.S. Government Accountability Office, International Energy Agency, IPCC Working Group I, IPCC Working Group II, IPCC Working Group III, and U.S. White House. All reports focus on government research and action in relation to climate change. Topics include health, weather, national security, energy projections, climate change indicators, and international climate change plans. Report publication dates range from 2013 to 2014.

Controlling air pollution could help curb projected declines in global food supplies, a new study says, suggesting policymakers should consider both climate change and ozone pollution in efforts to ensure the world has enough food.

Since its inception in 2009, the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD),
a European Union regulation aimed at reducing the climate
impact of transport fuels, has been attacked by powerful lobby
interests that do not want the EU to take action to curtail the
use of particularly greenhouse gas intensive fossil fuels

A new study released by two Alberta First Nations communities in partnership with the University of Manitoba reports that certain carcinogens released in tar sands operations are being found in high levels in local wildlife. The study also reports a higher incidence of cancer among study participants, many of whom work in the tar sands industry, adding to evidence that these local communities suffer from higher rates of cancer.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released its report today finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is “not consistently conducting two key oversight and enforcement activities for class II programs” for underground fluid injection wells associated with oil and gas production. The report shows that the EPA’s program to protect drinking water sources from underground injection of fracking waste needs improvement.

In March 2014, the Obama Administration unveiled the Climate Data Initiative—a key deliverable of the President’s Climate Action Plan. Building on the Climate Data Initiative’s initial focus on coastal resilience, the Obama Administration is unveiling the Initiative’s “Food Resilience” theme, aimed at empowering America’s agricultural sector and strengthening the resilience of the global food system in a changing climate

This Greenpeace report details the carbon pollution that has been unlocked by the Interior Department’s federal coal leasing program during the Obama administration, and show how selling coal owned by the American public at subsidized rates is undermining President Obama’s efforts to address climate change with EPA rules.

US climate policy is unfolding under the Clean Air Act. Mobile source and construction permitting regulations are in place. Most important, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states will determine the form and stringency of the regulations for existing power plants. Various approaches would create an implicit price on emitting greenhouse gases and create valuable assets that would be distributed differently among electricity producers, consumers, and the government.

World Resources Institute (WRI) and Global Forest Watch Canada have released maps of forest loss in the tar sands region of Alberta, in the heart of Canada’s Boreal forest. These maps make very clear how prevalent the forest loss is in and around the tar sands operations.

A time-lapsed map released today by the World Resources Institute using satellite imagery from Global Forest Watch shows how much forest is being lost in Northern Alberta to make way for major industrial operations, mainly to extract oil from the tar sands, also referred to as the oil sands.

Two reports released last week examined how the effects of climate change can deeply affect physical and psychological health, on both individual and communal levels. (The studies’ “effects of climate change” referred to trends in extreme weather events, food and water shortages, poor air quality, etc.)

As the health care sector works to lead their communities in improving their environmental footprint, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) is proud to announce that our new report , Health Care & Climate Change: An Opportunity for Transformative Leadership, is now available for download.

This free, easy-to-use web tool by Ceres and CookESG Research allows users to filter and customize company 10-K filing excerpts relating to clean energy, renewables, weather risk, and climate-related regulatory risks and opportunities. Useful to investors, accountants, corporations, academics, and analysts, the search tool offers a unique picture of what climate issues companies consider material, as well as the quality of reporting they provide.

Communities with the fewest resources have the hardest time escaping, surviving and recovering from the affects of climate change. This landing page includes tools and resources to address the unique vulnerabilities of minority and low-income neighborhoods to climate change, which require an equally specialized response.

An annual event, the congress offers a number of sessions and events on a wide variety of topics including urban risk, resilient urban logistics, financing the resilient city, urban agriculture, and smart infrastructure.

USAID, Pact and The Nature Conservancy collaborated with the Society for International Development to host an intensive workshop. Linked is a list of cases and tools presented as well as full descriptions.

To help people across the country develop climate-smart conservation plans, NWF staff have authored or edited a variety of guidance documents including vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies.

Scientists study the environment of Cape Cod not only because it has a combination of ecosystems unique in New England but also because it has changed rapidly - more rapidly than any other region in New England.